Laurie sighed. She had to pull herself together. Thinking about the BRCAl problem reminded her that she had agreed with Jack to have herself tested for the marker by calling her old college roommate, Sue Passero. At the time, Laurie had not been completely forthright, since she actually hadn't entirely decided to do it, so her acquiescence was more to assuage his unexpected insistence than a real decision. Yet suddenly, she saw the idea in a new light, since getting away from the OCME, even for just a couple of hours, sounded like a good idea. The thought also occurred to her that she could kill two birds with one stone. Knowing Sue as well as she did, Laurie was confident that while getting tested, she could pass along her concerns about the possibility of a serial killer that would give the hospital a reason to be vigilant without the need to cite herself or the OCME as the source.
Laurie got out her address book for Sue's office number and made the call. They had been close in college and in medical school, and having ended up practicing in the same city, they got together every month or so for a dinner. They always vowed to see each other more often, but somehow it never happened.
Laurie got one of the clinic secretaries where Sue worked and asked for Sue. Laurie's intention was just to leave a message for Sue to call back at a convenient time, but when the secretary asked who was calling and Laurie said "Dr. Montgomery," the secretary went off the line before Laurie could explain. The next thing she knew, she was talking with her friend.
"This is a nice surprise," Sue said cheerfully. "What's up?"
"Do you have a minute to talk?"
"A minute, what's on your mind?"
Laurie said she needed to be tested for BRCA1 for reasons that she would explain later. She also mentioned that she had been switched to AmeriCare but had not yet made arrangements for a primary-care doctor.
"No problem. Come over anytime. I can set you up with a script and send you down to the lab."
"How about today?"
"Today is fine. Come on over! Have you had lunch?"
"I haven't." Laurie smiled. It was going to be three birds with one stone!
"Well, get your rear end over here, girl! The cafeteria food is not something to write home about, but the company will be good."
Laurie hung up and got her coat from behind the door.
"I think you are doing the right thing about being tested," Riva said.
"Thank you," Laurie responded. She looked at her desk to be sure she wasn't forgetting something.
"I hope you're not cross with me," Riva said.
"Of course not," Laurie responded. She gave Riva's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "As I said earlier, I know I'm oversensitive these days, and everything is bothering me more than it should. Be that as it may, and I know you're not my secretary, but I'd appreciate it if you would once again take messages, especially from Maureen or Peter. I'll make it up to you."
"Don't be silly. I'll be happy to answer your phone. Are you going to be back this afternoon?"
"Absolutely. It's going to be a quick lunch and a simple blood test, although I might stop and say hello to my mother as well. Anyway, I'll have my cell if you need to call."
Riva waved and went back to her work.
Laurie walked out the OCME entrance on First Avenue. There was a bite to the air. The temperature had dropped as the day progressed, so it was colder than when she'd walked to work that morning. As she descended the front steps toward the curb, she got her zipper started and pulled it up to her chin. Standing on the curb, she was shivering slightly as she raised her hand to hail a cab.
The ride to Manhattan General was a little longer than the ride she'd taken the previous day to University Hospital. Both institutions were on the Upper East Side and approximately equal distance to the north from OCME, but the General was farther west, sprawled along Central Park. It took up more than an entire city block, with several pedestrian walkways spanning the surrounding streets to connect with outlying buildings. The complex had been constructed of gray stone in fits and starts during the course of almost a century, so the various wings were of slightly different architectural design. The newest wing with the most modern silhouette and named for the benefactor, Samuel B. Goldblatt, stuck off the back of the main structure at right angles. It was the VIP wing, the equivalent of where Laurie's mother had been roomed over at the University Hospital.
Having been to the Manhattan General on a number of occasions, including visiting Sue, Laurie knew where she was going, which was helpful, since the hospital was always mobbed. She headed directly to the Kaufman outpatient building. Once inside, she walked down to the internal medicine section and inquired after her friend at the main check-in desk. When Laurie mentioned her own name, the secretary handed her an envelope. Inside was a completed script for a screen for the BRCA1 marker, as well as a note from Sue. The note told her where the genetics lab was located in the central building on the second floor. There were also instructions for Laurie to go first to admitting. As a new AmeriCare subscriber, she had to get a hospital card. The final line in the note said that Laurie should go directly to the cafeteria when she was finished, and that Sue would meet her there.
Obtaining the hospital card took more time than the blood test. She had to wait in line to see one of the customer-service representatives. Still, it took only fifteen minutes, and she was soon on her way up to the laboratory on the second floor. Sue's directions were clear, and Laurie found the genetics diagnostics lab without difficulty. Inside, it was surprisingly serene in comparison to the rest of the hospital. Canned classical music issued from wall speakers. Framed prints of Monet's "Water Lilies" from the Museum of Modern Art lined the walls. No patients were in the ' waiting room when Laurie handed over Sue's script to the receptionist. It was apparent that walk-in genetic testing was in its infancy, but Laurie knew it would soon be changing, and with it, medicine in general.
Sitting in the waiting area, Laurie was again forced to confront the reality of what might be lurking deep within the core of her being. It was a disturbing revelation to think she was possibly carrying an instrument of her own death in the form of a mutated gene. It was a kind of unconscious suicide or built-in self-destructive device, which was certainly the reason she'd been actively avoiding thinking about it. Would she be positive or negative? She didn't know, and being in the hospital made her feel like a gambler, something she was never comfortable with. Had Jack not insisted, she most likely would have put off doing the test indefinitely. But now that she was there, she would have the blood drawn, and then she would forget about it, a trait Laurie shared with her mother.
After the blood was drawn, a deceptively simple procedure, Laurie returned to the first floor and waited in line at the main information desk. She had no idea where the cafeteria was located in the extensive complex. When it was her turn, the pink-smocked volunteer asked Laurie if she wanted the main cafeteria or the staff cafeteria. Momentarily indecisive, Laurie said the staff cafeteria and was given directions.
The directions were complicated but made easier by the volunteer's last suggestion-namely, to follow a purple line on the floor. After a five-minute walk, Laurie found herself in the staff cafeteria. Since it was quarter past twelve, the place was bustling. Laurie had no idea the staff of the Manhattan General was as large as it was, especially considering that the crowd represented only a portion of one shift out of three.
Laurie looked around at the teeming faces both sitting at tables and waiting in the steam-table line. The babble of reverberating conversation reminded her of the noise of a wetland sanctuary on a late summer night. With such a crowd, Laurie couldn't help but be immediately pessimistic about hooking up with Sue. The plan smacked of trying to meet a friend in Times Square on New Year's Eve.